Arkansas Air
| established = 1986 | location = Drake Field, Fayetteville, Arkansas | type = Aviation and military museum | accreditation = | key_holdings = | collections = | collection_size = | visitors = 6,000 (2014) | director = | curator = | owner = | website = | embedded = }} The Arkansas Air & Military Museum is an aviation and military museum located at Drake Field in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the largest aviation museum in Arkansas. The Arkansas Air & Military Museum's collection of aircraft largely dates to the 1920s and 1930s, many of which were racing aircraft, as well as military aircraft dating from World War I, World War II, and the Vietnam War. It includes a Boeing-Stearman NS2S (PT-17), a Curtiss-Wright CW-1 Junior, a Dassault Falcon 20, a Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, a Howard DGA-11, a Howard DGA-18K, a Learjet 23, a Piper Tri-Pacer, a Stinson Junior, and a Travel Air Model R "Mystery Ship" replica; the museum also houses a variety of helicopters, including a Bell AH-1S Cobra, a Bell UH-1H Huey, and a Piasecki H-21C Shawnee. The museum also displays Walmart founder Sam Walton's first aircraft, an Ercoupe 415C. Many of the museum's aircraft are still airworthy, and its Stinson Junior provides flights to the general public. The wooden hangar in which the Arkansas Air & Military Museum is housed is one of the few surviving such buildings from the 1940s and is listed on the Arkansas Registry of Historic Places; it previously served as the headquarters for a military aviation training post during World War II. In addition to aircraft, the museum also displays a variety of aviation engines, including a Curtiss OX-5, a Rolls-Royce Spey, and a Westinghouse J34. Other collections and exhibits include a 1940 Packard automobile, military vehicles (including ambulances, jeeps, trucks, and a British Ferret armored car), and smaller military artifacts (such as uniforms, helmets, and even pieces of a Mitsubishi A6M Zero). Additionally, the museum features biographical exhibits on notable Arkansan aviators, including Commander Richard O. Covey, Field Eugene Kindley, Captain Pierce McKennon, and pioneering female pilot Louise Thaden, who won the Women's Air Derby in 1929 and the Harmon Trophy in 1936. The Arkansas Air & Military Museum was established in 1986. In 2014, its board of directors noted that a decrease in visitors had resulted in the museum struggling to stay financially viable: that year, its monthly profits were roughly $5,000, compared to monthly expenses of around $7,000. Also in 2014, the museum only had one paid employee, with the remainder of its personnel consisting entirely of volunteers. According to board member Russell Smith, the museum's number of annual visitors shrunk from approximately 26,000 to 6,000 after the opening of Interstate 540 and Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport replaced Drake Field as the region's principal airport in 1998. Gallery File:Arkansas Air & Military Museum May 2017 20 (Boeing-Stearman NS2-S).jpg|Boeing-Stearman NS2S File:Arkansas Air & Military Museum May 2017 57 (Douglas A-4 Skyhawk).jpg|Douglas A-4 Skyhawk File:Arkansas Air & Military Museum May 2017 05 (1941 Howard DGA-18K).jpg|Howard DGA-18K File:Arkansas Air & Military Museum May 2017 59 (1970 Bell AH-1S Hueycobra).jpg|Bell AH-1S Cobra File:Arkansas Air & Military Museum May 2017 33 (1916 Curtiss OX-5).jpg|Curtiss OX-5 engine File:Arkansas Air & Military Museum May 2017 40 (1965 Rolls-Royce Ferret armoured car).jpg|Ferret armored car References External links * * [http://www.aetn.org/programs/exploringarkansas/october_2014 Exploring Arkansas October 2014: Arkansas Air & Military Museum / National Championship Chuckwagon Races] (Arkansas Educational Television Network episode) * The Arkansas Air Military Museum (KLRT-TV video) Category:Aerospace museums in Arkansas Category:Military and war museums in Arkansas Category:Buildings and structures in Arkansas Category:Tourist attractions in Arkansas Category:Museums in Arkansas